Compressor options?

Heartfeltdawn · May 2014

Fazer said:

i sold the diamond comp as i preferred the bearfoot ones, to me the bearfoots improved the tone with my setup, whereas the diamond was more flat sounding, and i could get the compression a bit lighter with the bearfoot
i tried both the bearfoot pale green and evergreen and i kept the pale green because i only use it at very light settings and dont need the wider range of the evergreen.
the evergreen can go light with the decay control eased off or much squishier and sustainy
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/10476/fs-mxr-carbon-copy-delay-bearfoot-fx-bjf-compressor-fromel-eq-buffer

Aren't compressors meant to sound flat?

I'm intrigued as to how light the Bearfoot is because the Diamond is by no means a squisher at all.

Fazer · May 2014

i have it on all the time and the bearfoot adds a 'sparkle' and buffer to my guitar and at minimum comp is so light it may not actually be compressing at all

with the diamond even at minimum i could always hear it working with strummed chords, and couldnt quite get the tone control to hit the right spot, i tended to have it at about 1 maybe, to add a bit of sparkle back.
i just want a compressor to even out and balance the clean notes and chords, rather than hear it 'working'
thats just with the guitars and amps im using now, it may sound very different (and better) with someone elses setup.
the diamond was smooth sounding and i would like to have kept it, but i'm trying to be a bit leaner and cant justify keeping 4 compressors!
so for now im just keeping the bearfoot pale green and mad professor comp, and sold the diamond and selling the bearfoot evergreen which is a stronger flavour of the pale green.
if the pale green goes from 0-5 on the compress scale, then the evergreen probably goes from 1-8.
i'm just making up random numbers there :P

Heartfeltdawn · May 2014

Ha, you should hear my attempts to describe tone or knob settings....

The Diamond just works for me. A bit of compression, EQ at 1pm, volume to taste, and away I go. I think it's my second longest serving pedal behind the Tim. It's seen a fair few pedalboard changes in its time.

Fazer · May 2014

is the tim always on, set to clean?
my clean sound is very dull by itself and with the diamond i had to add an extra eq pedal, but with the bearfoot i dont need to.
if i start using different (better) amp and speakers then that might change and i'll have to go through the bloody pedal merry-go-round again

Heartfeltdawn · May 2014

Not always on. I have a slightly odd setup.

Dirt pedals--> Tim --> Diamond comp --> stereo delays/reverbs/whathaveyou then stereo outs to either two solid state amps or straight into the PC if I'm at home.

The Diamond acts as a nice preamp to load everything into and gives me one EQ option. The Tim will give me a bit more dirt and other EQ options if I need it plus everything in front of it (RAT 2 and HM-2 right now) stacks up great with it.

It is a totally odd setup but it works for me. Currently very much in love with JC-120 impulses on Torpedo Wall of Sound! It feeds my Johnny Marr jangle fantasies perfectly.

It does seem from the reviews I've seen of the Bearfoot that it's quite a sound polisher. Sounds like it tickles the mids/upper mids a bit to give the clean sound some life.

Majorscale · May 2014

Another Bearfoot PGC user here, great box and my one has a glow in the dark finish! Tonewise it is very transparent and replaced a Wampler Ego and a Tone Press in my setup. I run it first in my pedal chain, straight into a fuzz then OD... not sure if that's technically the accepted right order of things but sounds good to me!

meltedbuzzbox · May 2014

Grunfeld said:

Branshen said:

Does anyone have experience with the Mooer Yellow Comp...

I use one of these with my Jazzmaster for the cleans. It's a wonderful combination!

It's the fourth compressor I've used but the only one I'm really happy with. I've had a couple of different Boss pedals; the Marshall Ed (which is not bad); and an MXR red which I really didn't like. But the little Mooer is pretty much perfect with the Jazzmaster and smoothing out the strummy stuff. I don't use it or feel I need it for the higher gain sounds.

I was going to recommend the Marshall Edward for a cheap good compressor. Usually a £30 find on the bay

Fazer · May 2014

what ss amps are you using, heartfeltdawn?

majorscale, same as you i go into the comp 1st thing.
the only time i dont have it on is if im using certain fuzz/drives that are altered by a buffered/impedance signal thingy

Heartfeltdawn · May 2014

Just a couple of Bandits going straight into the power amps and bypassing the Bandit preamp and EQ. It's a big platform that's as clean as a JC-120 but has more warmth to it.

svejk · May 2014

I've got a T-Rex CompNova which I'm very pleased with. V.transparent, attack, sensitivity & level. I leave it on all the time, and it has never let me down.

firks91 · May 2014

JackGriffiths said:

My Suhr Koji turned up today - in short, it's brilliant and exactly what I wanted.

It can do it all from very subtle (the kind of compression where you don't realise it's on, adding some fatness to each note until it's off and then you miss it) to extreme squish and everything in between. It does the Andy Summers thing very well, too. Each control is very usable and has an obvious and useful effect on the tone. My gig is going to be lots of funk rhythmic playing as well as big, gained out leads and I'm basically going to leave it on almost 100% of the time for both settings. It's very adaptable and the LED indicator as to how much gain reduction it's doing is fun to play with! It's surprisingly dynamic at the same time as compressing... paradoxical, I know.

One of my favourite features is the voice switch which takes you from flat EQ in the centre position to adding a slight boost to the treble frequencies and upper mids in the right and left positions respectively. This was a big help in getting a brighter, smooth rhythm tone on a Les Paul, then going back to the natural tone of the amplifier when using a Tele or Jazzmaster. The nice thing is it doesn't sound like the boost is actually there, if that makes sense, as it sounds perfectly natural. Just your guitar, with a little more cut.

Not only does it sound great when it's on, it also has the same fantastic switchable buffer that's in the Koko Boost. Since it's first in my chain, I find it a big help and I really notice the difference between buffered and true bypass with this.

I'm very happy with my purchase - great little box. Thanks to you all for your suggestions, it's become an interesting read.

Jack

im very intrigued by the koji seeing as my needs are the same as yours. is it really worth the price? i dont want to pay 170 for a compressor to be honest. i hoped there would be one on here but theres only a wampler ego thats interesting on here.

have you tried the ego or is there anybody that could weigh in on it?

firks91 · May 2014

Majorscale said:

Another Bearfoot PGC user here, great box and my one has a glow in the dark finish! Tonewise it is very transparent and replaced a Wampler Ego and a Tone Press in my setup. I run it first in my pedal chain, straight into a fuzz then OD... not sure if that's technically the accepted right order of things but sounds good to me!

whats your opinion on the ego?

exocet · May 2014

I've got the Ego and I also have a Barber Tone press. The Ego is a nice pedal but in my view it's no better than the Tone Press.

Majorscale · May 2014

The Wampler Ego was a great pedal, very flexible and worked well for me. I just ended up preferring the subtlety of the PGC though...

nickb_boy · May 2014

I've been using a diamond comp for a while and had no complaints until GAS got the better of me and I picked up a Cali76TX. This thing is a real monster and offers anything from the most subtle tone enhancing magic to some nice gain/boost when pushed. The only downsides are the price tag and the real estate it takes up.

You may also want to consider the Walrus Audio Deep Six and as others have recommended the Pale Green.

If I was to pick up another comp to own alongside the Cali76 it would probably be the Fairfield Circuitry Accountant for something very small with unique options that would add something different to the mix, and at not a bad price either.

firks91 · May 2014

cheers guys. i did end up getting the ego (before i saw the replies) that was on here. going to try it tonight. hope i like it!

gjonesy · May 2014

Anyone got or tried the crazy tube circuits bulb? Id be interested to hear opinions.

therose789 · June 2014

I have heard nothing but good things about the Walrus Audio Deep Six.

I havent played one but every single review/demo seems to really rate them!

When i eventually get into the market for one i will more than likely go for one (or a diamond comp!)

gjonesy · June 2014

therose789 said:

I have heard nothing but good things about the Walrus Audio Deep Six.

I havent played one but every single review/demo seems to really rate them!

When i eventually get into the market for one i will more than likely go for one (or a diamond comp!)

I tried one recently at hotrox, it seemed to colour the sound a little. (Not sure if its up on their website yet). I preferred the sp comp at the time, tried keeley 4 knob too. I think theyre all ross/dynacomp based.

juansolo · June 2014

For transparency, Rothwell LoveSqueeze.

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